February 2015 - Kent Woodlands Property Owners

Newsletter #232
February 2015
President’s Note
Hello, everyone!!! Never say never,
as I agreed at the last board meeting to be
your president! I thought that being president twice already was the end; how
wrong I was! So here we go.
I was gratified at the last election to
have had three challengers step forward. This is a very
healthy situation! This keeps the board members on
their toes and earn their stripes...let’s continue the
trend!
Kathy Goldsmith — what a wonderful three-time
president! She addressed scores of issues every month,
and always maintained the dignity and integrity of being
your president, tirelessly on your behalf, defending your
rights as prescribed by our bylaws and CC&Rs. Thank
you, Kathy — I hope I can do as well!
The board challengers brought forward many concerns that our new board will address. We will make
every effort to be fair and open with every issue! At
every board meeting, we have a member comment period about any issue you may have. Come to our meetings and you will have plenty of time to be heard. See
you then!
Board Meeting Time Change: Starting this
month, the Board of Directors will meet the
fourth Thursday of each month at 6:00pm.
Please see back page for the next meeting agenda.
Assessments: Your $275 payment is due by
2/15/14. Payments not received by due date
will be subject to late fee. If you did not receive
a billing statement, please contact the office at
415-721-7429.
Parking Stickers: Next week, new “acorn”
permits will start going out to members who
have paid their assessment and requested
stickers for their household. Our patrolling
Sheriff’s deputies will honor 2014 permits in
the lot at the bottom of Woodland Road
through February 15.
— Barry Evergettis, President
Election Results & New Officers
Under Davis-Stirling law applicable to homeowner associations, KWPOA is required to report in a communication
directed to all members the tabulated results of the recent 1/14/15 election. Therefore, in accordance with the
law, the results are as follows:
Kathleen Belzer
138 votes
Kathy Goldsmith 138 votes
Anne Barr
135 votes
Bill Gleason
119 votes
Andy Matthes
118 votes
Jeanice Skvaril
116 votes
The elected directors are Belzer, Goldsmith, and Barr.
At the January 22nd board meeting, the board elected the
following officers for 2015:
President:
Barry Evergettis
Vice President:
Bitsa Freeman
Secretary:
Kathleen Belzer
Treasurer:
Paul Ross
In addition, the board re-appointed Jim Schafer, Bill Riley
and Anne Barr as the 2015 Architectural Committee.
We thank all who participated in the election. Should you
have any questions, please contact the office at 721-7429.
— KWPOA Board of Directors
Security Camera Update
At its first board meeting of the year, we evaluated
all the information we’ve gathered on the topic of whether to install security cameras at the entrance to the
Woodlands. This included briefing of the board by Sheriff’s deputies tasked with monitoring License Plate Reader
cameras for law enforcement in the County; written and
verbal comments, both pro and con, from many members; and a presentation followed by Q&A by Detective
Jerod Kansanback, of at the KWPOA Annual Meeting.
The Board has decided not to pursue this License
Plate Reader at this time. The reasons for this decision
are as follows:

The Sheriff’s Deputy, Les Richardson, who outlined
Kent Woodlands’ crime statistics before Det. Kansanback spoke, highlighted that Kent Woodlands has
a very low crime rate. This has, of course, always
been true. The small number of recent break-ins,
with one exception, were through unlocked doors.
Locking doors is the most effective solution to breakins.

With these other towns and their cameras, it is unclear that any crimes that occurred within those locales resulted in arrests owing to the use of these
LPR cameras. However, crime rates did drop somewhat, likely due to the deterrent effect of camera installations.

Kent Woodlands, as a homeowners association,
would be the first and only private (non-municipal)
entity to have installed such cameras in Marin County.
The other installations are monitored and policed by
their own town law enforcement and paid for out of
general tax revenues. We are not comfortable being
a pioneer, particularly given the uncertainties regarding the costs of ongoing maintenance and whether
there would be any measurable benefit (drop in crime
rate from current low level).

Installing and paying for a LPR would be paid for solely by KWPOA members, whereas all Kent Woodlands would be covered, and those non-members
would not bear any of the expense. The county
would also benefit from expansion of their license
plate data base, but again, they would not be helping
us finance the cameras’ installation and maintenance.

As Detective Kansanback pointed out, the Sheriff cars
we now have in our neighborhood already have devices which read license plates for identification of
stolen cars (which are often used for burglaries) and
known sexual predators. And, the positioning of
Sheriff cars near the Woodlands entrance during
much of the day, as is now the case, allows us to already enjoy a big deterrent to crime.

In order to get the entire Woodlands (not just
KWPOA members) to participate in financing the LPR
system, we would need to do this via a tax levy either
tied to or separate from our next Sheriff’s CSA-17
tax ballot proposal (which finances the patrols we
now have). This would be an additional tax expense
which would run for several years—even if the cameras were found to be ineffective. The tax proposal,
at any rate, would not be voted on until our current
CSA-17 tax comes up for renewal, which would be
2016 at the earliest.
The Board felt that, for the above reasons, there
was no compelling reason to install the cameras at our
entrance. As always, the Sheriff’s Department urges everyone to use common sense, keep your doors locked, use
your alarms, and report any suspicious activity immediately to the Sheriff. The Board truly appreciates the member
feedback on this issue and we hope that the community
understands that we have carefully weighed all the pros
and cons.
— KWPOA Board of Directors
Home Safety Tip
Here is your safety tip for the month:
“GRAB HOLD”
You are taking a shower,
and suddenly slip! You “GRAB
HOLD” for any thing you can,
but down you go, and if you are
lucky, nothing is broken! A near
miss!
Let’s try the same scenario
again: You are showering and slip! You “GRAB
HOLD” of your grab bar and steady yourself, and
all is okay!
Every shower and bathtub needs a proper grab
bar—you will use them more than you think! Falling
in the shower or tub is so common, it’s just a matter
of time before it happens to you! So install grab
bars in all your showers and bathtubs and “GRAB
HOLD”!
— Your Fire & Safety Committee
Architectural Applications: February 2015
Please note: This newsletter is your official notice from the KWPOA regarding property improvements submitted for
approval by the Architectural Committee. Please review this section very carefully as some planned development may affect
you. Note that Architectural Committee actions are not final until ratified by the Board of Directors. Architectural Committee
Agendas and Results are posted on our web site at www.kwpoa.com under “Design Review”.
FEBRUARY ARCHITECTURAL REVIEW MEETING: February 10, 2015
Applicant
Property Address
Category/Project Description
New Applications for February
Ghilotti
421 Crown Rd
C4: Significant Changes in Appearance - New landscaping, doors
and windows
Applications Continued in January
Holsberry/Janzer 37 N Ridgewood Rd
C6: Teardown - Teardown and new 1 story (5,075 sf)
Anglin
C2: Minor Addition - Landscaping, new deck, stairs and windows
124 Rancheria Rd
Applications Approved in January
Kim/LeComte
95 Westwood Dr
C4: Significant Changes in Appearance - New garage, demo carport
McLaughlin
7 Quail Ridge Rd
C4: Significant Changes in Appearance - Kitchen Addition 181 sf,
doors, windows, paint, roofing, landscaping
Atwater
100/106 Diablo Dr
C2: Minor Addition - New fence and planting
Open Enforcements
170 Rancheria Rd
Tree Removal
Exempt Applications
Kaplan
112 Goodhill Rd
Tree Removal (Oaks)
ARCHITECTURAL COMMITTEE: Jim Schafer (Chair), Bill Riley, Anne Barr COORDINATOR: Kathleen Slattery
MEETINGS: Held at the KWPOA office at 1010 Sir Francis Drake Blvd., #200, Kentfield, CA on the 2nd and 4th Tuesdays
of each month from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. To be noticed in the newsletter and placed on the agenda, COMPLETE applications must be received by the 21st of the preceding month (or the Friday prior if the 21 st falls on a weekend or holiday). All
calls concerning Architectural Committee matters should be directed to the KWPOA office at 721-7429. Materials and applications may be mailed to P.O. Box 404, Kentfield 94914, or delivered to the office by appointment only.
Kent Woodlands Property Owners Association
PO Box 404
Kentfield, CA 94914
Board Meeting Agenda
KWPOA Contact Information
Date:
Location:
Mailing address:
Physical address:
Phone:
Fax:
Web Site:
Email:
Office Hours:
Thursday, February 26, 2014 - 6:00PM
1010 Sir Francis Drake Blvd. #200
Kentfield, CA
Call to Order
Public Comment
Approval of January 22 Meeting Minutes
AC Report and Ratifications
Fire Safety Committee Report
Officer Reports
County Update
Review CC&Rs
Review AC Appeals Fees
Administrator's Report
Next Meeting Agenda
Adjourn and Reconvene in Executive Session
Executive Session Agenda:
 Call to Order
 Approval of January 22 minutes
 Litigation Report, including 40 Diablo
 170 Rancheria
 Personnel
 Adjournment
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This is a preliminary agenda. The final agenda will be posted in the
KWPOA office window no later than 96 hours prior to the meeting.
PO Box 404, Kentfield 94914
1010 Sir Francis Drake Blvd. #200
415-721-7429
415-532-1487
www.kwpoa.com
[email protected]
Mon - Thur, 9:00am - 2:00pm
Board Members and Staff
Barry Evergettis, President
Bitsa Freeman, Vice President
Kathleen Belzer, Secretary
Paul Ross, Treasurer
Anne Barr, Director/Arch. Comm.
Kathy Goldsmith, Director
Mimi Willard, Director
Jeanne Williams, Administrator
Kathleen Slattery, AC Coordinator
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ATTENTION MEMBERS
PROPOSED CHANGE TO THE KWPOA ARCHITECTURAL RULES
KWPOA members have 30 days from the publication of this proposed change to
our ARCHITECTURAL RULES to comment. Please address comments to the Board of
Directors by email to [email protected], or via mail to PO Box 404, Kentfield, CA 94914.
The Board is proposing to discuss and take action on this change to our
Architectural Rules at our board meeting on March 26th at 6:00 pm (location – KWPOA
office, 1010 Sir Francis Drake Blvd, Kentfield).
CHANGE – Solar Panels and Alternative Energy
Proposed modification of rule on solar panels and alternative energy.
The proposed new language is as follows:
Solar Panels & Alternate Energy – No alternate energy systems, including wind and solar
energy equipment, may be installed without the prior written approval of the Architectural
Committee. The location of solar systems should minimize the impact on neighbors’ sense
of privacy and seclusion and should minimize reflection of light into other homes. The
location of wind energy systems shall not impact the quiet enjoyment of neighbors’ sense of
privacy and seclusion nor materially impact ridge-top preservation. Document References:
CC&Rs Article VI, Sect. 13.
The existing language is as follows:
Solar Panels & Alternate Energy – No alternate energy systems, including wind and solar
energy equipment, may be installed without the prior written approval of the Architectural
Committee. The Architectural Committee shall have the right to approve or disapprove the
size, shape, color, materials, construction and location of such equipment. All solar panels
shall be constructed of the most currently available non-reflective materials. The location of
solar systems should minimize the impact on neighbors’ sense of privacy and seclusion and
should minimize reflection of light into other homes. The location of wind energy systems
shall not impact the quiet enjoyment of neighbors’ sense of privacy and seclusion nor
materially impact ridge-top preservation. (Adopted 09/27/12)
Explanation of the Proposed Rule Change and its Impact:
The proposed rule change deletes the second and third sentences of the above existing rule.
This change would affect the extent of the Architectural Committee’s consideration of the
size, shape, color, materials, construction and location of such energy equipment as well as
the mandate that all solar panels shall be constructed of the most currently available nonreflective materials. The Architectural Committee would continue to review alternative
energy systems prior to approval, to ensure that such systems are not installed within
setbacks; encourage applicants to be sensitive to the alternative energy systems’ impact on
neighbors’ privacy, seclusion, and reflected light; and to minimize adverse impact of wind
energy systems on ridgetops. The reason for the proposed rule change is to bring KWPOA
CC&Rs regarding solar equipment installations (Article VI, Section 13) into clearer
compliance with recent changes to the California Civil Code intended to promote solar
power.